All posts tagged: running

Nothing much new to report today, except that I’ve noticed a couple of trends. The first change relates to weight loss. From Day Three to Day Seven, I lost weight extremely consistently – at the rate of .5 kg per day – whereas over the past three days (since Day Eight) this has reduced to a consistent .4 kg per day: something I’m rather glad about, given my general lack of fat stores!

Woke up after lots of sleep. Again I needed an extra blanket because by the end of yesterday evening I was feeling cold. I also woke in the middle of the night and felt my kidneys aching, but by morning the sensation had disappeared. Detox and healing have definitely started…

A lot of people who ordinarily work out or exercise in everyday life are tempted to continue doing so while water fasting. Usually the reasons revolve around maintaining fitness and the fear of losing muscle mass. But is it wise to continue exercising after your body has exhausted its glycogen stores? Like it or not, there are potential dangers in doing so. This video takes a look at what is safe, what is not, and why. Please feel free to post comments at the bottom of the page if I haven’t answered any of your questions!

When most people think of diets or fasting, they usually have weight loss in mind. Even at the best of times this is a dubious practice. Changing the way you eat by reducing calories usually results in the body conserving energy and using calories more efficiently thereafter. Although a more efficient body is generally a healthier body (good!), the problem is that, as a result, many people actually gain weight once they finish their diet or fast (bad!). If you need to lose weight, the healthiest and most sustainable way to achieve this is to move. Get out there and go for a run! If you’re already a runner, this doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for diets or fasting in your life. Far from it! (And this applies both to recreational runners who use movement simply in order to lose weight, as well as to professional athletes.) Besides the fact that a little extra cleansing never hurts :-), diets and fasting provide one of the most effective tools in order to prevent and treat …

I’m sitting down to write this having had breakfast for the first time in a week… Lately, I’ve been practising “intermittent fasting”, which revolves around lengthening the time between your last meal in the evening and your first meal the following day. It’s one of several ways I involve fasting to improve my health – as well as my running. In this case, you’re aiming for about a 16-hour “mini-fast” per day, which for all intensive purposes means skipping breakfast and eating at around lunchtime instead. This means that all the food you eat on any given day takes place within about an eight-hour window. There’s plenty of literature on intermittent fasting and its benefits in general, so I’d like to concentrate here instead on how fasting can benefit you as a runner or anyone involved in endurance sports. Quite simply, fasting means taking in no calories for a given duration. How can depriving yourself of breakfast on a regular basis – or even depriving yourself of all food for days on end – possibly …

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Dr. Tallis Barker, Ph.D.

I’ve been water fasting as part of a healthy lifestyle and path of self-discovery for many years now – and I’ve helped thousands of others do the same. I hope the various programs and online support, as well as the articles and videos offered on this website, deepen your own journey into water fasting.